travis



(No Model.)

2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

o. L. TRAVIS. GARPBT SWEEPERQ.

Patented Feb. 19, 1884.

N. PETERS. mm uxmmr. Washin ton. 0. C.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

0. L. TRAVIS.

CARPET 'SWEEPER.

Patented Feb. 19, 1884.

n. PETERS. 90mp w a I1 Q UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES LESLIE TRAVIS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CARPET-SWEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,989, dated February 19, 1884.

Application filed April 21, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES L. TRAVIS, of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain Improvements in Carpet-Sweepers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of portable or traveling carpet-sweepers wherein a case or body containing dust-pans andarotary IO brush is sustained by wheels which also act upon pulleys on the ends of the brush-shaft, for the purpose of imparting motion thereto. The invention relates more particularly to improvements upon the machine for which I filed application for Letters Patent of the United States on the 26th of September, 1882, Serial No. 72,745.

The improvements consist in sleeves seated in slots in the body and loosely encircling the journals of the brush, to prevent fibers from winding thereon; in combining with the slotted body projections thereon adapted to engage the pulleys on the ends of the brush, to prevent the accidental escape of the latter from the body; in a handle of peculiar formation,

combined with stops on the body, as hereinafter described; in the combination of the brush-shaft, a wooden pulley thereon, a metal pin uniting the shaft and pulley, and awooden 0 pin applied within the pulley, to confine the metal pin in place, and in bearing-plates provided with slots for the brush-shaft, and with stops or projections to retain the brush in the manner hereinafter described. 3 5 Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved machine as it appears when standing upon the floor; Fig. 2, aperspective view of the machine as it appears when inverted, with the dust-pans o opened. Fig. 2 is an end elevation, illustrating the form and arrangement of the handle and stops therefor on the body. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the machine in line with the brush-shaft; Fig. 4, a similar section through one side of the machine on an enlarged scale; Fig. 5, a vertical section on the line as w of Fig. 3, looking toward the body. Fig. 6 is a view exhibiting in cross-section and in side elevation the means employed for securing the driving-pulleys to the brush shaft or j ournal;

The machine consist-s, principally, of the met angular body A, four independent drivingwheels, B, joined to the body, the transverse rotary brush 0, located within the body and provided with pulleys D on the projecting ends of its journals in position to be driven by frictional contact with the main wheels 13, dust-pans E, hinged in the lower side of the body adjacent to the brush, and a handle, F, by means of which the machine is propelled.

In their general construction and mode of operation the above-named parts are similar to those represented in my application above referred to, and are not therefore claimed as part of the present invention, except as to the particular features hereinafter specified. As in my previous machine, the body is provided at each end with a central vertical slot,

(1, adapted to receive the journals of the brush D, which are dropped therein when the body is in an inverted position, as represented in Fig. 2. These slots serve the double purpose of permitting the brush to rise and fall as may be required, and of allowing its ready removal from the body, in order that adhering fibrous matters may be detached therefrom.

The first feature of my present invention consists in applying to each of the journals of the brush a loose sleeve or ferrule, G, extending from the body portion of the brush to the inner face of the drivingpulley, this ferrule being made of suitable size to rise and fall freely within the slot a during the operation of the machine. These ferrules stand normally in a fixed position without revolving, and thus serve efiectually to shield the journals and prevent hairs or fibers from winding thereon. It is also found that they serve the additional purposes of rendering the machine 0 practically noiseless in its action, and of preventing the oil or other lubricant, if such be employed, from being removed from the journal by the fibrous matters which would otherwise be brought in contact therewith, as in the 9 5 original machine. The sleeves in which the journals are mounted have their bearing in vertically slotted and vertically adjustable stops H, as clearly represented in Figs. 4 and 5, and are held in their place therein, as in my IO former machine, by means of springs I, applied to the edges of the dust-pan, which is hinged to the body in such manner as to close against the journals from below. Owing to the fact that the dust-collecting pans are hinged to swing outward from beneath the brush, in order to permit the discharge of the dust and dirt therefrom, annoyance was encountered in operating the original machine, from the fact that the brush, being free when the pans were open, would fall from the machine. I therefore provided in the present machine a means for keeping the brush in position when the dustpans are open. The device for this purpose consists, as most plainly represented in Figs. 4. and 5, of small rounded projections or studs K, formed on the outer surfaces of the slotted end plates, H, near the lower edge of the body. These studs project normally beyond the inner face of the brush-driving pulleys in such manner that when the brush is permitted to fall the pulleys will engage against the upper sides of the studs, and be retained thereby within the body. Owing, however, to the elasticity of the body, the studs will yield and permit the pulleys to be drawn outward over their surfaces by the application of a moderate force applied for the removal of the brush. While it is preferred to retain the studs K for the purpose specified, as being probably the cheapest and most effective means to the end desired, it is manifest that separate stops or spring-catches, or equivalent device may be employed upon the body to engage beneath the journals of the brush and retain the same within the body.

In the operation of machines constructed in the ordinary manner, great annoyance is eX- perienced on account of the handle falling to the floor unless the machine is placed near the wall, and on account of the liability of the body to be overturned when the machine is in position for the removal or insertion of the brush. To avoid this difficulty, I adopt the following construction: The handle F is connected to the body at its-lower end by means of the forked bail, the ends of which are pivoted to the body, as usual. The arms of this bail, instead of extending in line with the aXis of the handle, as usual, are inclined or bent to one side, as shown in the drawings, so that when the handle stands in a vertical position the arms will stand at an inclination. Their ends, instead of being pivoted to the body-at the middle, are pivoted thereto at one side of the center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Upon the outer ends of the body, preferably at the middle, I place fixed studs or projections L, in position to engage with the arms of the bail or handle. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.) The bail and the stops are arranged with respect to each other, as shown, in such a manner that when the machine stands upon the floor the bail may be rested against the stops, and the handle thereby maintained in an upright position, as shown in Fig. 1. When the machine is inverted for the .removal of the brush, or for other purposes, the stops will encounter the bail, as represented in Fig. 2, and thus retain the body in a horizontal or substantially horizontal position, preventing it from overturning, and thus permitting the required operations to be performed in an easy and convenient manner. The stops also serve, when the machine is in operation, to prevent the same from being overturned when drawn backward toward the operator, an occurrence which 7 5 frequently happens in connection with the ordinary machines, and which has the effect of discharging the dust and dirt upon the floor.

In order to secure the satisfactory operation of the machine, it has been found desirable to construct the driving-pulleys on the ends of the brush of wood, and that they shall have continuous smooth surfaces to co-operate with the rubber tires applied to the main wheels. To permit this construction, and at the same time secure a rigid connection between the pulleys and the brush-shaft, and admit of the manufacture being carried on cheaply, I employ the following method of connecting the pulleys to the brush-shaft, as shown in Fig. 6: The pulley is drilled to receive the end of the shaft. A hole is drilled radially inward from the periphery of the pulley through the brushshaft, and a metal pin, 01, inserted therein, as shown, in such manner as to project on both 5 sides of the shaft. The head or end of the pin is sunk within the periphery of the wheel, and a wooden pin, 6, inserted behind it and glued or otherwise secured in place. After the application of the wooden pin, the pulley IOO is turned perfectly true and smooth upon its face by means of a lathe or other suitable means. Theapplication of the wooden pin serves to retain the metal pin in place and prevent its escape, and also to produce a continuous surface on the wooden pin. The application of the wooden pin admits of the pulley being finished by ordinary wood-turningtools, which would not be the case were the metal pin permitted to extend to the periph- 11o ery.

The present invention is restricted to those matters and things which are specifically claimed herein.

I am aware that thimbles and boxes have been employed in connection with shafts under Various forms and arrangements; but I am not aware that any one has hitherto applied loose sleeves to the journals of the brush of a carpet-sweeper, or elsewhere applied them to secure the peculiar results which are attained in the sweeper.

I do not claim herein the features or combinations of devices represented in my application for Letters Patent filed September 26, I2 5 1882, Serial No. 72,745.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a carpet-sweeper, the combination of the body provided with the vertical slots, the I 30 rotary brush having its journals mounted in said slots, and round sleeves or thimbles loose- 1y encircling the journals within the slots, whereby the vertical adjustment of the brush is permitted and the winding of fibrous mat: ters upon its journals prevented.

2. In combination with the vertically-slotted body, and the brush having pulleys 1) upon its ends, projections K on the ends of the body, substantially as described, to prevent the accidental escape of the brush.

3. In a carpet-sweeper, thebody, and thehandle F,'having its arms pivoted to the body at one side of the middle, and having its handle thrown out of line with the arms, in the manner described and shown, in combination with the centrally-applied stops L upon the body, whereby the body is adapted to sustain the handle in an upright position when the ma- CHARLES LESLIE TnAvrs.

Witnesses:

GHAsrR. GHUTE, GEo. W. LOGAN. 

